Internal Communities: Catalysts for Employee Engagement and Innovation
Did you know that around 80% of employees are somewhat disengaged at work? Work-for-the-money way of life results with low employee retention, which is why human resources have a hard task of keeping the company employees satisfied and engaged.
While in a small team members engage easily, a larger organization struggles to connect teams across different departments. This is where an online community for your employees comes to the stage.
An internal community is more than just a place for cross-functional collaboration. With inspired community management, your company's online community holds the potential to bring the team closer and contribute to the well-being of community members.
If building a vibrant internal community is a part of your business goals, keep reading.
We will dig into what a successful community manager should know, and help you choose the right platform to support your innovative ideas.
What is an internal community?
Internal community is an online or offline space that gathers community members from the same company or team. It's purpose is to build strong personal relationships, foster employee engagement, as well as internal communication and knowledge sharing.
Internal employee community can be used for professional development within the company by keeping training courses, technical documentation, and other industry-relevant intelligence in one place.
Besides employee resource groups, internal community is an environment where meaningful relationships can flourish. Employee communities are handy for hosting team-building activities, Secret Santa during Christmas, scavanger hunt, and other fun activities that support a healthy company culture and promote cool employer branding.
Why is it important to make an internal community?
Here are key reasons to build an internal community:
Communication purposes
- Internal communities make it easier for collaborators to communicate and form significant connections with one another.
- Internal communities contribute to better cross-functional collaboration. Internal communities give employees the power to be heard, resulting in talent development and more diversity of ideas within the organization.
- Internal communities provide the opportunity for more peer-to-peer connections, resulting in a more human and kinder approach.
Information tracking
- Since internal communities are usually smaller, they make tracking project activity and processes more streamlined.
- Internal communities centralize relevant and essential information. Internal communities can standardize business processes, so everyone can stay on the same page, which reduces onboarding time.
Structural change
- Internal communities can contribute to structural and cultural organizational change and make sharing best practices more accessible.
- Internal communities can act as strong governance communities for larger organizations. Internal communities can solve common business problems and processes.
How do you build an internal community?
Get clear on the goal of your internal community
Alt: Six hands pilled together, photographed from above
To build an internal community, you must first clearly define your community's intention or purpose. Consider what problems or processes need to be streamlined or fixed within your organization. Perhaps you need to streamline your onboarding process, or maybe you would like to create a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Community. Decide what types of problems or projects your internal community intends to tackle.
Internal communities are often easier to grow than external ones as you already have a group of people to invite.
Decide which employees or members are a good fit for your community
Next, decide which employees would make the most sense to include in your internal community. You should consider the present skills of your best employees and which employees have the potential to grow over time. You could conduct a survey or ask employees or members to sign up voluntarily. Consider including members who could benefit from the leadership opportunities available within a smaller community.
Finally, choose a community platform for your internal community
Decide on a community platform that best suits your internal community and connects your members. Research which ones may streamline communication the best so your members have all they need to accomplish the community's purpose or goals.
Example of an internal community
IBMs CSR Influencers Network is a group of IBM employees dedicated to making a social impact. The community helps people organize activities and also helps new people get involved in these programs.
How can Bettermode help you set up your internal community?
If you are ready to create your internal community right away, Bettermode is the perfect solution for you. As a no-code community website builder, Bettermode offers a comprehensive solution to help you build a branded, private community from scratch.
Here's what Bettermode can do for you:
1. Create a customized community space
First thing first, you don't have to know code or start from zero. Bettermode's community templates are an excellent starting point in creating an online community. These templates are ready to use for various use cases, you'd just need to customize the details to adjust them to your branding.
For example, a DevApp template is adjusted to host an internal community of IT specialists. With spaces for Q&A, discussions, blog with integrated CMS, and events - DevApp is all set to onboard members right away.
Bettermode's customization options include everything from adding your light mode/dark mode logo versions, changing fonts and styles for textboxes and other content, and adjusting the look of your online space for all types of devices.
2. Vast communication and collaboration features
With a comprehensive set of communication features, Bettermode makes community management feel like a day in a spa. Set up multiple communication channels such as:
- Discussions with reactions and comment options
- Categorized blog posts for simplified sharing
- Moderated spaces for different user groups
- HR space to gather feedback on employee satisfaction
- Members section for direct communication
- Forums for members who share common interests.
Moreover, use the Events space to schedule online and offline gatherings for trainings, problem solving, or just for fun to ensure community engagement.
3. Enable multilingual support
Larger companies with teams across the world have challenges of connecting and including all of their members due to the language barrier. If multilingual environment is a part of your organization's culture, then Bettermode's multilingual support is a must-have.
Language translation features foster inclusivity and engagement across diverse teams. They also have a powerful effect on interpersonal relationships and increased internal mobility.
4. Next level community management
Community managers occasionally struggle with inappropriate behavior or hacked accounts. Here's where Bettermode's moderation tools, such as custom rules, content flagging, and review processes, ensure a safe and productive environment.
Besides moderating keywords and keeping a Members Watchlist, Bettermode integrates an AI-powered spam filter which helps you uncover imposters quickly.
5. Highlight each member
What makes a sense of community in internal space stand out, unlike in external communities, is an opportunity for each member to shine. Bettermode enables this by offering a large set of profile sections you can include, as well as badges and awards.
If you want to include other team members in moderating the community, you can do so by assigning member roles to honorable moderators.
Furthermore, you can enable search through the members database and help people connect by location, sector, or other interests.
6. Knowledge base for personal and professional development
Besides exhaustive community management features, Bettermode supports every community manager in providing opportunities for members to learn, and improve their skills.
A knowledge base allows your employees to find information fast and easy with filters, search, and smart suggestions.
7. Analyze the engagement of community members
Finally, understanding how your crew feels about your brand and company is the key to improving employee retention and engagement.
Bettermode's reporting allows you to get a deeper insight into how engagement has increased, if the online space contributes to improving communication among employees, as well as what type of content/game/event your employees love the most.
Conclusion
Creating an internal community offers numerous benefits to improving company culture, engaging employees, and ensuring employee retention.
Nowadays, with no-code community building tools such as Bettermode, you can kickstart your own online space for employees to meet, interact, and get closer to each other and your brand.
Why not try it out today? Sign up for Bettermode for free and unlock the hidden power of internal communities!
FAQ
What are internal communities?
Internal communities are groups within an organization or a company where employees, team members, or stakeholders connect, collaborate, and share knowledge to improve productivity and establish deeper interpersonal relationships.
What is an external community?
An external community consists of customers, partners, or fans who interact with each other and the brand. Their purpose is to build brand loyalty and support business growth through referrals.
What are the 4 types of community?
The four types of communities are:
- Interest-based: Focused on shared hobbies or passions.
- Action-based: Organized around a cause or goal.
- Place-based: Centered around a physical or virtual location.
- Practice-based: Built around shared professional or skill-based interests.
What are internal factors of a community?
Internal factors of a community include leadership, culture, communication, trust, and shared goals, which collectively influence the community's life and success.
